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Back with another monthly watch list recap!
Once a month I send out a list of everything I watched the previous month to give you some ideas of things to add to your own watch lists, so I’m here to share the rundown of all of the stuff I watched in July. Heads up that this list is shorter than usual because of how much I traveled last month and being absolutely Olympic-pilled the past two weeks.
Also note that I only include seasons of TV shows that I finished in any given month — if it’s still on or I’m still currently watching it, then I’ll include it when it’s over.
RELATED: Everything I Watched in June 2024
You’ll find that my reactions to things lean positive, because 1. I actively try to seek out stuff that I expect to be entertaining, has been well reviewed and/or has value to me — I’m not just going to watch the most popular show on Netflix because everyone else is if I don’t think I would like it — and 2. I’ve given myself more leeway recently to give up on shows that I’m not enjoying (here’s the list of all the shows I dropped last year). I used to force myself to finish things even if I hated them, which is truly unnecessary and a waste of time.
Keep scrolling for the list of everything I watched in July 2024 (and here’s the list from June if you’re new here or just want more ideas for things to watch):
Bridgerton - Season 3b (Netflix) 👍
This was just a great all-around season of “Bridgerton.” I’ve always had a soft spot for Penelope Featherington so, with her at the center of the story, I was extra-invested. The added stakes of her double identity as Lady Whistledown also gave this season a new feel, and I think that it almost completely delivered.
Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini (Hulu) 👍
This was a wild, three-part docu-series about the disappearance of Sherri Papini in 2016 and all of the shocking events that followed. At first it seems like a straightforward the-husband-did-it tale, but the truth is much wilder than that.
A Family Affair (Netflix) 👎
This was… not a good movie! I have a high tolerance for watching stupid things, but this was just bad. All three of the leads deserve better!
The Mole - Season 2 (Netflix) 👍
This was a very solid season of a competition reality show! While the host wasn’t as good as the host from season 1, the casting of the competitors offered a vast improvement. While “The Mole” has similarities to “The Traitors,” because the Mole is incentivized to secretly throw missions, it makes the challenges much more compelling to watch on this show than on “The Traitors,” where everyone wants to bank as much money as possible for the group.
Inside Out 2 (in theaters) 👍👍
A fantastic sequel to the original. Both “Inside Out” movies are the perfect examples of animated films that have equal appeal to children and adults. Similarly, they epitomize the creativity and cleverness of Pixar. I loved this movie so much, and it makes total sense to me that it’s gone on to become the highest-grossing animated feature in history.
Trying - Season 4 (Apple TV+) 👍
I will never stop singing the praises of this impossibly charming, funny and emotional British series that centers on a couple struggling to start a family. The latest season features a major time jump after they successfully adopted two children at the end of season 3, which was a smart move for the show. This season also ends in a cliffhanger, which gives me tentative hope that there will be a season 5 (though that has not been confirmed).
Sprint: The World’s Fastest Humans (Netflix) 👍👍
The perfect Olympics appetizer! This series tracks the world’s top sprinters during the 2023 season, gives you a peek into their lives and back stories and gets you to root for pretty much all of them, which made for a conflicting watch of this year’s track and field events in Paris. They’re filming a second season this year, which will surely be even better, given some of the dramatic storylines around this year’s Olympics.
Simone Biles Rising - Part One (Netflix) 👍
The first two episodes of this four-episode series dropped just before the Paris Olympics, and it sheds a lot of necessary light on Simone Biles’ story, what really happened around her controversial Tokyo Olympics exit and the work it took for her to return to competition in preparation for the 2024 Games.
Twisters (in theaters) 👍👍
The optimal summer movie to see in theaters. It’s wildly entertaining, action-packed, charming and knowingly silly enough to know to not take itself too seriously. The year of Glen Powell continues.
The Kardashians - Season 5 (Hulu) 👐
While this was far and away the least effective season of the Kardashian-Jenners’ show since they jumped from E! to Hulu, it still entertained me. I could watch this family do anything and still find it to be a fascinating watch, but I did make some suggestions on what I’d like to see more of on the show to improve it going forward on a recent podcast episode.
Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+) 👍👍
This is one of the better prestige shows I’ve watched this year. It centers on the murder of a prosecutor in Chicago and the chaos that unfolds after a colleague of the victim who is accused murdering her. The entire cast, led by Jake Gyllenhaal, Ruth Nega and Peter Sarsgaard, was excellent, and the show manages to keep you on your toes until the final minutes.